Ancillary Justice

By Ann Leckie

Description

Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, British Science Fiction, Locus and Arthur C. Clarke Awards. On a remote, icy planet, the soldier known as Breq is drawing closer to completing her quest.Once, she was the Justice of Toren - a colossal starship with an artificial intelligence linking thousands of soldiers in the service of the Radch, the empire that conquered the galaxy. Now, an act of treachery has ripped it all away, leaving her with one fragile human body, unanswered questions, and a burning desire for vengeance.

Reviews

Ancillary Justice

What the?!

Wait. What just happened?! How the heck did this win? Am I missing something here?

Hugo award????

1

By xswatts

Bought the book, couldn't finish it.

Innovative. Compelling.

5

By Lamperti

Deserving of all its accolades.

an unnecessare anchor tied to a solid plot

2

By Cbus75

The description of the book was enough to get me to buy with some enthusiasm, though I’ve been reluctant to read for some time. Disappointed too many times in a row, I’d given up reading for a while. This one though, from its description sounded like just what I needed to get back into it. And it might be just the kind of read to get lost in, a real gem. Problem is, the story is buried underneath a heap of crap!
I kept at it for many pages, until finally, after one too many interactions where I have to puzzle out who is what… How difficult is it to tell the difference between man and woman? Not difficult at all, right? Except in extremely rare cases. But your narrator doesn’t know the difference. He doesn’t know or care about gender. Sounds kinda cheeky, eh? Ya, try and read it. Everyone is her, or she. He can be telling you about nothing but a group of men, but they’re all “she’s” Confusing? That’s right. So crappy to read that it spoils the enjoyment of any underlying story.
So your main character is an AI. SO WHAT? If he can puzzle out all these intricate details to track a (woman?) across the Universe, certainally IT has intelligence enough to puzzle out gender and report the fact accurately. For crying out loud, don’t drop out REALITY when you’re writing a story! Us, the humans reading your book, are made up of genders! That’s reality.
So you’re reading about a conversation between cousins about a love affair one of them is having. But everyone’s “she” even though they’re not necessarily “she’s”. So now you’ve got to stop and puzzle out - ok, if cousin 1 and cousin 2 are both males, and the lover is female; or cousin 1 is fe — no, they’re both males — NO THEY’RE ALL FEMALES. Ok, you come to a conclusion eventually that is probably correct, but what a waste of time! Is this supposed to be a brain exercise or entertainment? I want to ENJOY the read, not be mired in the authors stupid sexpolotics. Screw this book in its current format. If I could get my money back I would.

A disappointing mess

1

By HAL-9E03

I bought this book because it won a Hugo. Honestly, it's got to be the worst award winner ever published. It's a plodding mess and a gender experiment that's sure to wind up on future honors program required reading lists, where it will surely be hated by tomorrow's students.

Interesting premise, very poorly executed

1

By Snowyclw2003

Loved the starship AI trapped in a human body premise. But this was poorly executed. Never once gave a flip about the characters, and the primary plot line was a dud from the start - kill a near omnipotent hive mind with a "magic" handgun. I will never trust the Hugo awards again as this was obviously hyped for unknown reasons other than t.

Pretty bad

2

By syd and gim

Book was poorly written. Been reading sci if all my life and I am used to the convolutions to develop these imaginary worlds and cultures but it was so poor Ly done as to be maddening. Big hly recommend not reading it

Really bad

2

By Classicalmuse

This pos won a Hugo? Really?? Sigh, sentence structure was awkward and plot was lacking. I guess someone had to like it, but, for the life of me I don't see how or why.

Excellent

5

By MippyMoo

Always a pleasant surprise to stumble across a really good book. Well written, good characters, interesting story. Hooks you and doesn't let go. Highly recommended.